The Free State Rugby Union offices in Bloemfontein have been swamped by hundreds of Cheetahs and Blue Bulls supporters since early on Monday morning trying to get tickets for the Currie Cup final over the coming weekend.
”The phones actually started to ring on Saturday just after the Cheetah-Sharks game as people wanted tickets,” Piet de Necker, spokesperson for the Free State Cheetahs Company, said.
Horak Avenue alongside Vodacom Park’s main gate had been experiencing slow moving traffic since early on Monday morning as every possible space had been taken up by parked vehicles.
A long queue of rugby enthusiasts had been lining the sidewalk from the union’s offices, just inside the main gate, for about 300m down the road since 6am on Monday. By noon the line seemed not to have moved at all.
De Necker said tickets would also be available at Shoprite Checkers on Tuesday.
”It all depends what happens today [Monday] with the ticket sales,” De Necker said on the availability of tickets on Tuesday.
Three Blue Bulls teams will travel to Bloemfontein on Saturday to partake in respective rugby finals. First on the programme for Saturday is the under-19 final between the Blue Bulls and Western Province. The game starts at 11.30am.
In the Absa under-21 Cup final the Lions face their Blue Bull counterparts at 1.30pm.
For the third consecutive year, the Free State Cheetahs — the current Currie Cup champions — and the Blue Bulls will meet at 4.30pm.
De Necker said the practice sessions of the Cheetahs this coming week would be behind closed doors.
”There is so much interest that the stadium would be half full during the practice sessions; it’s a decision for practical reasons,” De Necker said. — Sapa